More than what she seems
by SkyMaiden
Summary: He had saved the beautiful platinum-blonde haired woman from drowning that day. He thought that he had been doing a good deed, only he wasnt sure just exactly what he was getting himself into when he saved her life. Naruto x Ino.
1. First Kiss

**A/N: Ok, so brand new Naruto x Ino fic I just wrote. I'm still pretty rusty when it comes to writing so I decided to just write a whole bunch of stuff until I get better again. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

Uzumaki Naruto, 23 blond with deep cerulean-blue orbs, handsome features with unique whisker shaped marks on his cheeks that he had on his face since birth. He wasn't even sure how he had gotten them but he had known they were there since he was a boy. The other children of course never let him forget about them.

Whiskered-freak, scar-boy, were just some of the names the children would call him. He shuddered slightly at the painful memories of his childhood. Yet he soon put a smile back on his face and continued working. He was currently working as a waiter. It wasn't the most glamorous of jobs but it would do for now, and he happened to be friendly with the owner so he did get a lot of free meals here which was always a plus. What person couldn't appreciate free food, especially when it was good? The young man stood there with a tray of dishes in his hands as he gazed out to the nearby beach. The restaurant and it was full of tourists and even the locals. This was only his part time job seeing as how it was seasonal, pretty much getting the major part of business on warm, summer days. All the other times during the year he worked several odd jobs. Right now though he was currently lost in some other thoughts as he stood there with table 4's order in his hands.

"Yo Naruto." His fellow waiter, a young man with wild brown hair named Kiba shouted his name causing Naruto to get pulled back to reality.

"Huh, what is it?"

"Table 4 is waiting for their order hurry up and get over there."

"Oh yeah," Naruto nodded and quickly hurried over to the table with the order they had been waiting for. He smiled apologetically and placed the dishes on the table, luckily the people didn't seem too upset with him. From there he continued going from table to table getting everyone's orders and delivering them in record time. He had always had a lot of energy and was very fast on his feet which made him a pretty good waiter. Of course there was more to life than waiting tables, he wanted much more.

The spiky-headed blond leaned himself up against a nearby wall and let out a breath of air. He closed his eyes for a split second when a voice interrupted him out of his moment of silence.

"Hey Naruto why don't you go on and get out of here."

"Oh, hi Chouji."

Chouji Akimichi was a childhood friend and one of the nicest people Naruto had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was also the owner of the restaurant.

"hi." The brown-haired male gave his friend a warm smile. "You look exhausted Naruto."

"Yeah for some reason I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Go Naruto; take the rest of the day off okay. It's alright."

"Chouji are you sure you know how crowded it gets over here for dinner."

The owner nodded but he couldn't have his friend and one of his beast waiters tired and not able to perform to full capacity.

"It'll be fine, go on Naruto, and go on before I kick you out." Chouji laughed.

"Okay." The blue-eyed male nodded. "Bye Chouji I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto quickly went and changed back into some street clothes which consisted of a t-shirt, baggy orange shorts and some sneakers. He waved goodbye to Chouji and Kiba and headed out of the restaurant. He knew that he should probably head straight home and get some much needed sleep but for some reason he couldn't really explain he ended up going for a walk on the beach. Naruto walked with his hands in his pockets. It was a really warm, sunny absolutely perfect kind of day. He almost felt like going in and taking a quick swim.

"I wonder if I should, it'll only be a quick jump in the water."

He changed his mind though and was about to head home when someone screamed.

"Oh my god, someone's out there!" the woman shouted.

Naruto turned back around to see that there was indeed someone floating lifelessly in the water. There was no literally no time to waste. The blond male sprang into action and ran into the water after the floating person.

'Hang on ok!" he shouted.

He swam out into the water and grabbed a hold of the person. He immediately noticed a head full of platinum-blonde hair. Once out of the water he saw that it was indeed a woman, it was no wonder why she felt so light.

"It's a girl."

He carried her in his arms and laid her down on the beach.

"Is she okay?" the woman who had screamed earlier asked.

Naruto felt for a pulse it was weak and faint but the blonde was alive.

"I'm going to give her mouth to mouth."

He began to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation on her in an effort to help the young woman open her eyes.

"Come on it'll be okay."

He pumped at her chest and breathed air into her mouth, something inside of him told him not to give up on this woman. He had to keep on trying.

"I've called the paramedics they should be on their way."

"Okay, thanks." Naruto nodded.

As he was going in to put his mouth to hers again a pair of bright sky-blue orbs opened. She took a deep breath and started coughing heavily. Naruto began to lightly pat her on the back. It took a few moments but the young woman had finally stopped coughing. She closed her eyes and took another breath.

"Hey there," Naruto smiled warmly. "Are you alright now?"

The young woman slowly looked up at him. She stared into those beautiful cerulean pools and to Naruto's surprise she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Huh?" he wondered.

"Well it seems like she's in good hands, the paramedics are coming. Would you like me to stay?"

"No its okay, thanks. I'll stay with her until they come."

The woman nodded and bid farewell to Naruto and the blonde female that she assumed that he knew although honestly he had no idea who this young woman was Speaking of which the blonde hadn't let him go yet.

"Um miss I…"

She carefully let him go with a heavy blush on her cheeks. She hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Are you alright now Miss? Why were you even out there?"

She looked away from him for a moment. It worried Naruto as he wondered if perhaps he had done or said something to upset her in anyway.

"Hey I'm sorry I didn't…"

Suddenly she turned around and captured his lips in a kiss. His eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't expected her to do this, and perhaps she was just really grateful for him saving her life. Naruto watched as the blue-eyed female ended the kiss and looked down again with another blush on her face.

"Ok." He thought. "Hey," he spoke. "Don't worry I'll stay with you until the paramedics come."


	2. Fated to cross paths

**A/N: ****Yes chapter two finally woot. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto**

* * *

Naruto looked around for any sign of the paramedics they were certainly taking their sweet time coming. He noticed the blue-eyed female looking around too in a slightly nervous manner.

"Hey, um it'll be okay. I'm sure the paramedics are on their way."

She still had not said a word since the time that they had been waiting on the beach. Naruto couldn't help but be curious as to why that was.

"Uh…"

He didn't finish his sentence because two paramedics were now making their way over to the two of them.

"Sorry we're late. We tried to get here as soon as possible. Is everything okay?"

"Well I did get her breathing again but I think she should still get to the hospital."

"Of course." One of the paramedics nodded. "We'll get you there miss can you stand? Do you need some help?"

The young woman did not budge or appear to want to go with them.

"Miss…" the paramedic questioned.

Naruto bent down to look at the platinum-blonde. She seemed to be nervous again.

"Hey do you want me to go with you? Will that make you feel better?"

The blue-eyed female nodded and allowed Naruto to help her up. Together they got into the back of the ambulance and then they were off. The entire ride to the hospital was a silent one.

"_She is definitely not a talker_." He came to that conclusion.

He did find it odd however that she hadn't at least said what he name was. It would have been helpful to at least know that. Once at the hospital the young woman had been treated with Naruto waiting outside for her in the hall. He eventually began to pace back and forth. He couldn't help it if sometimes hospitals made him nervous.

"Ah," a doctor noticed him and came over. "You're the young man who came in with that young woman aren't you?"

"Hai." Naruto nodded. "Uzumaki, Naruto." He offered the doctor his hand.

"Good to meet you Naruto your friend is going to be just fine. You did very well in reviving her. We'll release her but she did not offer us any information, will you fill out these forms for her?"

Naruto stood stunned for a minute. He didn't even know anything about her other than the fact that she had platinum-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. It was about the only thing he knew because it was something he could physically see.

"Uh I honestly don't know anything about her. She didn't say anything at all?"

"No." the doctor answered. "She never spoke a word perhaps if you try she will say something, after all you did save her life."

"Okay I guess its worth a try."

Naruto opened the door to see the blue-eyed female sitting there drinking a cup of water.

"Hey there." He gave a bright smile. "So the doctors said you're going to be fine. That's good I'm glad of that."

She did not look at him. He sat down next to her.

"They're going to release you but we just need to fill out these forms first. Okay so lets see here."

Naruto looked down at the forms in his hand.

'So first things first, Name?"

The young woman looked up but turned away. He could tell right away she definitely wouldn't be answered that question.

'Um, okay never mind. How about height, weight? Okay never mind most women don't like to reveal that information." He looked down at the forms again and sighed heavily. He had a good feeling none of this would get filled out.

"You aren't even going to tell me what your name is huh?"

She still avoided his gaze and seemed to be ignoring his question. Naruto could feel himself becoming frustrated.

"Damn it!" He ended up shouting out causing the blonde female to flinch. "Is it really so hard for you to just tell what the hell your name is. Goddamn it!" Naruto banged his hand down on the side of the bed.

He stopped however when he saw how panicked the blue-eyed female seemed. He definitely hadn't meant to scare her.

"Oh," he paused. "I'm sorry." He put his hand to her shoulder. "I didn't mean to go off like that. I'm sorry okay."

She gave a nod.

"Maybe you're just not ready to talk huh, alright then we can move on your pace. My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He offered her his hand. She carefully took it. "Alright well you can fill out these forms yourself if you don't want to tell me anything right now. I, uh I do need you to eventually tell me where you live though so that I can make sure that you get home safely."

The whisker-faced male did not feel right unless he at least made sure the young woman got home safely. He exited the room and waited for the platinum-blonde to meet him once she had been officially released and was ready to go. He turned around when he heard footsteps.

"Hey," he smiled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." She gave a slight nod.

Naruto just tried to ignore it and led the way out of the hospital. He really wished that she would say something, anything at all. How could he get her home if she didn't tell him how to get there?

"Hey um do you want to draw me a map to where you live or something." He laughed and tried to make a joke to lighten up the mood. "Never mind it was only a joke. Okay." He looked around. "I guess we could get a cab and drive around until we find your place. I don't know how far we'd get on a waiters salary though."

He scratched the side of his head as he often did when he was thinking or nervous.

"I…" he paused when he felt the young woman put her hand on to his shoulder. "What's up?"

She titled her head to the left, motioning for him to follow her.

"Do you want me to follow you?"

She nodded and began leading the way. Naruto found himself following after the blue-eyed female. He couldn't help but think of the eventful day he had. He probably should have just gone home like he was supposed to but if did who would have rescued the platinum-blonde. Perhaps it had been fated for their paths to cross today. His thoughts were soon brought to an abrupt end when he was thrust back into reality. He soon noticed that he was following the young woman up some stairs of an apartment building.

"_I guess she lives here."  
_

Only he could feel that something had not been right because they walked passed each floor and did not stop until reaching the roof. Naruto looked around and in the corner he spotted a small tent that was set up with a few suitcases lying down in front of it. The young woman stood there looking downward. It did not take Naruto long to see what was going on here. He looked between her and the tent.

"_Oh, no_." he thought sadly. He definitely should not have gone off on her in the way that he had, especially now that he knew some of her story. "_Damn I didn't have to be a jerk. No wonder why she didn't want to tell me anything."_

"Hey you don't stay here do you?" He already knew the answer to that question though.

The young woman nodded. Naruto didn't know what to say at first. He did however know that he couldn't let her stay here. He didn't know her very well but he did save her life, either way he felt some sympathy for her and before he could stop himself he walked over to the suitcase. He picked one of them up. The blue-eyed female blinked curiously.

"Well we cant have this. You should not be staying up here. It cant really be too safe come on, you're going to stay with me."

Before she could protest she found that she had no choice but to follow the spiky-haired blond as he carried her suitcases and left the roof top, leaving her with no other option but to go with him.


	3. Cute however strange

**A/N: Thanks for reading everyone, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Naruto knew that he had a small apartment but that part didn't really factor into his thoughts when he decided to rescue her from her rooftop dwellings.

"Uh," he let out a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry it's kind of small can't really get much on a waiters salary." He spoke and put her suitcases down. "It's not so bad though it's close to work, the rent is reasonable, and the neighborhood is pretty decent."

The young woman looked around his apartment which seemed to be cozy, and he had the essential things such as a bathroom, kitchen, and a bedroom so she truly did not feel the need to complain. How could she when he had offered her such unbelievable kindness.

"So um," Naruto started. "You can have a seat if you want to."

The blue-eyed female did as he suggested and sat down on the brown couch. He decided to see if perhaps she was hungry.

"Are you hungry by any chance?"

"yes." She nodded.

"Alright I'll see what I can do just uh, sit and relax. The remote is on the table if you want to watch some television."

He then left the young woman alone so he could quickly throw something together for her. He was by no means a trained chef or anything to that affect, but he did know the basics. He was confident that he could make a meal for her that would not make her sick. While he cooked Naruto would occasionally steal glances at the blonde female. Here he didn't know anything at all about her other than the obvious physical attributes and the fact that she was clearly homeless. She must have been in some kind of trouble.

"I wonder what's going on and if she'll ever tell me."

Naruto came to the conclusion that either she couldn't talk or was simply just refusing to talk. Before long he was finished cooking.

"The food is done okay you can come eat."

She sat down at the table then looked at him with a questionable look on his face as if wondering why he wasn't joining her. Naruto read her face and received the message.

"Oh, I'm not hungry you eat okay."

She just reached for the chopsticks and proceeded to eat. Naruto watched as she cleaned the entire plate not in a piggish sort of way. The young woman had good table manners that much was clear.

"Wow." He smiled. "You were pretty hungry, huh?"

her cheeks flushed red slightly from embarrassment.

"It's okay I'm glad you liked the food. I think we should talk though, or rather I will do the talking."

He knew by now that she would not be doing any talking whatsoever. Naruto leaned up against the nearby wall.

"I don't think you want to discuss whatever is happening to you since you were living up there on that roof."

He took notice of the way she now sat with her shoulders slumped over making him believe that it had to be a bad story.

"Do you have any family at all?"

She quickly shook her head indicating a no.

"Okay well my place is small and I know we don't know each other that well, but I kind of believe that our paths were fated to cross."

Upon hearing him say that the young woman looked up and met his smiling face. He really was such a handsome guy.

"So I guess what I'm saying is that you can stay with me for as long as you need to, as long as you're comfortable with it."

Suddenly she rose to her feet and flung herself into his arms taking him by surprise.

"Oh…well I'll take that as a yes then, you're welcome."

So he hadn't exactly planned this whole thing out completely. He just knew for sure that there was no way he could not help her. She broke the hug first then pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Uh…" he blushed with her turning red too.

She bowed her head slightly in apology and then left him standing there with only confusion. She was definitely a strange one no matter how pretty he found her to be.

"_Yeah, she's definitely an odd one even if she does look pretty cute."_

For a long time he didn't say anything to her choosing instead to just give the young woman some space. The time alone did let him think some more about hey they were going to work their new living arrangements out. He had never had a female roommate before. The fact that she was indeed female couldn't really be ignored. There only was one bedroom so he came to the conclusion that he would sleep out on the couch. It was the gentleman like thing to do. Naruto couldn't help but be curious about this young woman, starting with what her name was. The rest of the details could have been filled out as time passed on but he didn't think it so wrong for him to at least know her name. as he was making his way to the kitchen he saw her sitting on the couch scribbling away in what appeared to be a journal.

"Hey Blondie what are you writing?"

she immediately looked up locking eyes with the taller blond.

"Heh, sorry." He laughed. "It's just you wont tell me your name so I decided to just call you Blondie. I know we're both blonds and all but well…" he paused. "Do you mind?'

she shook her head showing him that she seemed to be okay with the sudden nickname.

"Okay good." He sighed in relief. "I didn't want to cross the line or anything." He sat down besides her. "What were you writing anyway?"

She only closed the journal.

"Okay I get it, it's private I understand. Anyway whenever you're ready for bed the bathroom is that way. I'll go get the bed ready for you."

He went into his bedroom to tidy up and change things like the sheets, blankets and pillow case. It soon looked good enough for her to use for the time being. After awhile night fell. The two of them had just finished watching a movie together and were indeed ready for bed.

"I'll show you to the bedroom."

He led the way to where she would be sleeping. She stood there while he pulled the covers back for her.

"I put some fresh sheets and stuff. The bed is really comfortable so you should be okay. Well, I'm going to bed too. I'll be out on the couch if you need anything." He then began to leave her so she could get some rest. "Goodnight okay." But she suddenly took a hold of his arm which prevented him from going any further. The young man turned to look at her. "What's wrong?"

She simply did not feel comfortable about taking over his room. This was after all his place he had done so much for her already. Could she really take over his room like this while he slept out on the couch?

"You know if you're worried about my being on the couch it's really okay. A girl does need her privacy right so it's cool. Goodnight okay."

The young woman only nodded and let Naruto go. A sigh escaped the platinum-blonde as she sat down on the bed. It really was big enough for two people to sleep comfortably. Honestly she didn't see why they couldn't have shared the bed with no problems. Then again it wasn't like they knew each other well enough for such a step as sharing a bed together. So she had to be understanding of that. He had saved her so life so they would always have that, despite that though when it got right down to it they didn't know each other well. Only time could fix that. Naruto's couch happened to be a pull out bed as well so he would be at least be able to stretch out. He slept in a sleeveless black t-shirt and a pair of red boxers. A yawn escaped his mouth as he prepared to lay down. He placed his hand behind his head and laid flat on his back like he would usually do, before long he had closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Unfortunately his blue-eyed houseguest had been finding it very hard to sleep. For awhile she only sat on the bed gazing into space. She even paced back and forth for a little while. Sleep did not appear to be coming for her. Instead she got up and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

She spotted the blond-haired male fast asleep. He looked very adorable to her with his mouth slightly open as he snored quietly. A smile covered her face. She walked over to him and sat down carefully she leaned over to press her lips to his forehead.

"_Goodnight."  
_


	4. Feeling comfortable

**A/N: Next chapter woo go me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

The blond male awoke that next morning to the delicious smell of breakfast being cooked. He instantly opened his eyes and had been on his feet.

"_Damn that smells really good_." He thought.

He entered the kitchen to see the platinum-blonde cooking.

"Hi, good morning."

She jumped slightly almost nervously.

"Oh, sorry." Naruto apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

She nodded then gave him a bright smile.

"Good, so breakfast huh?"

She then guided him to sit down and placed a plate of food in front of him.

"Thank you I don't usually have time to eat breakfast like this. I usually just grab coffee and a donut or something." He bit into the omelet she had made it was very good. His face brightened up considerably.

"Hey, wow this is great."

She turned bright red at his compliment and then watched helplessly as the young man began to attack his plate, leaving nothing not even a crumb behind. Her mouth flew open slightly this guy had an incredible appetite. She almost felt the need to cook more food.

"Man that was great." Naruto sighed. "Thank you, oh jeez I do need to get ready though or I'll be late for work."

Naruto jumped up from the table then headed into his room to change into his street clothes, placing his waiters uniform and shoes in a duffel bag that he carried with him. He had showered last night so he was good to go really. He had some time enough to take a nice walk to work which he usually did anyway. He entered the living room again to see the platinum-blonde sitting on the couch.

"Well I have to go but I just don't want to leave you here all alone either."

He wasn't sure what to do at a moment like this. He very well couldn't not go to work either when Chouji let him have the day off yesterday.

"Hm," Naruto thought to himself. "I don't think you want to sit around the restaurant all day even though it's a pretty nice place."

The young woman said nothing instead she only slipped on her sandals and headed for the door.

"Well I guess that settles it I suppose we're off."

He followed behind the blue-eyed female and locked the door. Together they walked towards the beach where Chouji's restaurant had been located. The beach where he and this young woman had first met.

"I don't get off until about six." Naruto told her. "I don't think I'm doing the dinner shift to day."

He guessed that she would perhaps find a way to amuse herself for all those hours while he was working.

"Hey stay right here okay I'll get my boss and maybe you can meet Kiba too."

He walked into the restaurant and went to find Chouji who was busy talking to one of the newer waiters they had hired.

"Oh hi Naruto good morning are you feeling better today?"

"I'm feeling pretty good Chouji is Kiba around?"

"Yeah he's in the back."

"Okay I'll go get changed in a minute too but first there is someone I want you to meet, maybe she can sit in your office for awhile. She kind of doesn't have anywhere to go right now."

"Oh," Chouji looked sympathetic. "Okay sure where is she?"

Naruto then led the way to where he had asked her to wait for him only to his surprise she wasn't there.

"Huh?"

"Um Naruto buddy there is no one there."

"She was just here. I wonder why she took off."

"Naruto we'll find her later okay. She might have gone to hang out on the beach but for right now I need you here."

"Yeah, sure." Naruto agreed. "Of course."

Although he did feel concerned about where she ran off to he had to work. Perhaps when he went on to his break he could look for her. Naruto then went to the changing rooms so that he could change out of his street clothes.

"Hey Naruto good morning." Kiba waved.

"Hi Kiba how are you?"

"I'm good are you ready for work today? You wont bail on us right?" the brown-haired male teased jokingly.

"Nah," Naruto laughed. "I don't plan on leaving early today I'll be here."

After getting dressed Naruto went to work right away he had to leave his concerns for the platinum-blonde behind for awhile. She had to be okay out there but then again he had found her drowning in the water but he probably didn't need to worry about that. The restaurant had usually been pretty busy anyway especially for the breakfast and dinner hours. He would be pre-occupied for most of the day.

"Chouji am I working the dinner shift today?"

"No." Chouji answered. "Remember you switched shifts for Tuesdays but Thursday you do have the dinner shift and the afternoon but not the morning."

"Right." Naruto remembered. "Thanks Chouji."

Kiba looked a little concerned as well as the light brown haired owner. Naruto didn't usually forget his work schedule.

"Hey do you think Naruto's okay Cho?"

"I'm not really sure." Chouji admitted. "He does seem a little distracted lately. He must have something on his mind."

"Yeah." Kiba agreed. "Well I guess we just need to give him some time maybe he will talk about it."

The two men simply put any concerns they had to the back of their minds. Naruto would tell them if anything had been bothering him they decided. The day went by pretty uneventful people came, ate, then left. He managed to make a nice amount of tips but he usually did anyway because he was very good at his job and no one ever complained.

"Hey Naruto before you leave are you um, distracted because of that girl you wanted me to meet?"

"Girl?" Kiba spoke. "What girl?"

"Yesterday I was on my way home when I met this girl. She almost died but I got her out of the water in time."

'So she's okay." Chouji asked.

"Yes physically she is fine. I don't really know anything about her because she either can't talk or is refusing to. I'm letting her stay with me."

'Wow Naruto that's real noble and all but are you sure it's a good idea, you don't know anything about her right, her name, if she has any family?"

"Kiba she was staying up on a rooftop with nowhere to go and a few suitcases. I couldn't just leave her there it didn't feel right."

Chouji nodded and agreed with Naruto he would have done the same thing in that situation.

"Good man Naruto but I would expect nothing less. Here." He handed Naruto a bag of food. "She has to be hungry wherever she is."

"Yeah thanks Chouji I wish I knew why she took off like that."

"Well maybe she's not much of a people person." Kiba said. "Maybe she wants to only be around you."

Now that Kiba had mentioned it perhaps there might be a little truth to the theory especially when the paramedics had come yesterday she did not seem to want his help.

"Yeah maybe, well I'll talk to her and get her to meet you guys. I mean it's not like you two are a threat or anything."

"No in fact we'd like to help if we can." Chouji said.

"Yeah." Kiba agreed. "Definitely Naruto you're our friend so if we can help we will."

"Thanks guys I appreciate it. I'm going now though I'm sure that she's around here somewhere."

"Okay good luck Naruto call if you need anything."

"Sure." He nodded. "Bye you guys."

Naruto walked around for awhile in search of the blue-eyed female. She really couldn't have gone that far unless she decided to go back to his apartment and wait for him which really didn't make a lot of sense because she didn't have a key or anything. He looked up however when he noticed a head full of platinum blonde hair. The young woman had been sitting on a bench gazing out to see.

"Hey," Naruto ran over to her. "So this is where you were hiding."

She didn't look his way instead she looked straight ahead just looking kind of sad. Naruto put his hand to her shoulder.

"What's wrong? Are you alright? Why did you just run off like that I was coming right back?"

Of course there wasn't any answer he hadn't been expecting one.

"I was worried." Naruto admitted which caused her to look his way. She nodded which he took as a way of her saying sorry.

"It's alright I'm glad that you're okay you know." He handed her the bag of food Chouji had given him. "My friend Chouji owns the place where I work he wanted me to give you this in case you might have been hungry. Were you out on the beach the whole time?"

She nodded in confirmation. "Yes."

"Well you didn't miss much I wait tables so nothing very exciting really happens there. You should eat the food if good I promise."

She made no sudden movements to eat in fact she did do anything other than sit there. Naruto put his hand to her chin and brought her face to his they were looking at one another.

"Hey you shouldn't look so down it's a beautiful day, you have me here." He gave her a very bright smile which caused her to blush and smile back.

He suddenly got serious though. "You know." He whispered. "You're going to have to talk to me sooner or later. How can I help you if I don't know what's going on and I'm just dying to hear your voice? It's no fun doing all the talking you know."

It was funny some girls you could never get to shut up but this one he couldn't get to utter a single word. He then realized he was still holding her face he slowly let go.

"I guess I just have to give you some time. You look like you've been through something pretty serious."

He could only imagine what kind of situation the young woman was in. for the fact that she had been living on that rooftop and then she nearly drowned on the beach luckily he had been there.

"Well whatever time you need take it." Naruto stood up then reached for her hand. "Come on are you ready to go."

"sure." She nodded then took his hand. The two of them walked away together. It felt so natural for him to be doing that he almost forgot to let her hand go until they were away from the beach.

"Oh jeez I'm sorry." He let her hand go quickly. "I…"

To his surprise the blonde female re took his hand.

"Oh, you don't mind I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything."

She shook her head indicating that she was not uncomfortable in the least. The young woman only smiled.

"Okay then as long as it's alright."

She gripped his hand within hers then led the way.

"_What's_ _your story, what happened to you? Will you ever tell me anything?"_


	5. Figuring you out

**A/N: Okay next chapter after two billion years. It's a slow buildup kind of story so I'm sorry if it's not terribly interesting hopefully I can turn it around. That's the goal anyway. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

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She watched him sleep like she normally would every night. He looked so much at peace as his breathing was calm and gentle. The platinum-blonde sighed sadly before carefully pushing his hair out of his face.

"_Naruto_," she thought so very tempted to send her lips crashing down on his, however refrained from doing so.

She didn't want to leave him but it would appear too weird if he awoke to see her besides him in this way, instead she only left a small kiss on his forehead. The contact caused the young man to flinch slightly then turned over to another position.

"_Goodnight_,"

He awoke the next morning once again to the blonde female making breakfast.

"_A guy could really get used to this_." He thought happily. "Hey. Good morning."

She gave him a bright smile which he returned.

"You know if you're going to keep on cooking for me I might just have to make you stay here forever."

Her cheeks flushed red instantly Naruto did not comment instead he sat down to the delicious looking breakfast. It made her feel good to see him so content.

"Damn you're good you'd make a hell of a wife."

She paused instantly dropping a cup from her hand.

"Um did I say something?"

She then dropped to her knees in a panic almost as she hurried to pick up the broken glass.

"No wait don't try to pick it up."

Only it had been too late her had was now bleeding from trying to pick up the broken pieces of glass. She however did not flinch. She only stared at the blood flowing freely from her. Naruto went to her side and helped her up.

"Don't worry okay I'll help you."

He led her over to the couch so he could clean her bleeding hand then placed a band-aid on to it.

"Hey there that's better are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Be careful I'd feel bad if anything worse happened to you."

She looked over into his cerulean-blue pools.

"_Naruto,_"

"Anyway," he immediately changed the subject. "I was hoping we could get to know one another a bit better. Or rather I'm really hoping you'd let me know something about you. You know pretty much who I' am. I guess it be nice to know some information. Don't you trust me by now?"

She nodded fervently of course she trusted him.

"Well that's good so if you do trust me then can you tell me something? Will you at least tell me your name?"

She suddenly grabbed a piece of paper from her journal and began writing. She had drawn the kanji for the word boar. Naruto blinked a few times.

"_Uh, hm_…" he thought. "I…Ino, is that your name?"

'_Yes."_

"Ino," he repeated in a thoughtful tone as he finally learned what her name was. "So is it okay for me to call you Ino-chan?"

"_Sure_."

"You told me before that you don't have any family."

The platinum-blonde could only give him a nod of sadness. He began to wonder if perhaps a traumatic event of some kind happened and the young woman had gone mute because of it. It certainly seemed like a plausible idea. He gently put his hand to her shoulder.

"Hey it's alright you don't have to talk about what happened to your family. Maybe one day if you feel more comfortable you can tell me about it if you want."

The last thing he wanted to do was put any type of pressure on to her. It had been a step in a positive direction that she had at least finally told him her name.

"So when's your birthday?" he randomly changed the subject.

She drew a picture of leaves falling in an early autumn type of setting, apparently she wanted him to try and guess which month she was born.

"It looks like autumn, October maybe?"

She shook her head indicating a no.

"Okay then maybe earlier autumn where it's still kind of nice out, like September?"

She nodded with enthusiasm as he actually guessed the correct month. She had hoped he would be able to figure out some stuff without her having to tell him everything.

"Cool I was born in October. What about color? What's your favorite color? You look like a girly kind of girl, um pink?"

She stuck her tongue out in disgust which earned her an amused laugh from Naruto.

"Okay pink is out I suppose, maybe yellow or purple then?"

Her smile as he mentioned purple told him all he needed to know.

"Okay purple it is then. Hey I'm getting pretty good at figuring you out huh, which is a plus to me since I've been told on more than one occasion that I'm pretty dense when it comes to the opposite sex. It's nice to know that I'm not that stupid." He let out a laugh.

The blonde female now had a focused look on her face as she began running her pen across the back of her journal.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up for a minute, locking eyes with him. She reached over then placed a hand on to his cheek something he had not been expecting.

"Um…"

"_You_ _don't have any idea how badly I want to kiss you."_

She fought the urge to do just that allowing her hand to fall back down.

"Ino-chan are you okay?" he couldn't help but ask.

She nodded however he didn't believe her. The girl was quite the mystery to him. He couldn't help but wonder more about her.

"Alright well I'm off today do you maybe want to go out and do something?"

He thought it would be a good idea to get out of the house and get out for a few hours, maybe even get to know her a bit better if opportunity allowed it. He received his answer by the platinum-blonde as she went to change her clothes. He smiled softly.

"I guess then that's a yes."

Before long the two blonds were heading out together side by side they walked while he gave her a tour of sorts pointing out some places he liked to go along the way.

"That's Ichiraku's it's a good spot for ramen, heh." He laughed "But just don't tell Chouji I go there sometimes he'd kill me."

He'd then realized he should probably try to convince her to meet his friends. They had offered their help which he appreciated because he still didn't know her whole story.

"You know I'd like you to meet Kiba and Chouji. They're really good friends and you would like them I know it."

She didn't appear particularly interested however when suddenly she became distracted by a field of flowers. She quickly ran off.

"Hey, um, wait up."

Naruto ran after her. She came to a stop dropping to her knees and gently began picking some of the various flowers.

"So you're a flower girl huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically and before long she had put together a small bouquet of assorted flowers. She turned to him with her handiwork.

"Yeah they look good." He nodded. "_Well at least I know of something that makes her smile."_

He could see that if he ever upset her a nice bouquet of flowers would probably cheer her right up.

"_Huh, why am I even thinking of anything like that happening?"  
_

It wasn't as if she were his girlfriend or anything there wasn't anything like going on.

"_No, nothing like that_." He thought to himself.

Ino saw that the young man had been very wrapped up in whatever he had been thinking about. She waved a hand in front of him which snapped him back out of his thoughts.

"Huh, oh yeah I'm sorry we can keep going."

She nodded and they were off once more. He actually felt himself enjoying spending time with her. She was decent enough company although he did wish to hear her voice. He began to wonder if he'd ever hear it.

"Well she's pretty that's for sure. It'd be a shame if the voice didn't match the face," which often that kind of scenario did happen. He couldn't help but be curious however.

"I wonder,"

Hopefully one day he would be able to hear her voice and have a normal conversation with her.

"For some reason I can picture her having a beautiful voice."

Ino would steal glances at the young man besides her. He had no idea how she longed to talk with him too. However at this time such a thing had been impossible.

"_Maybe one day soon_."


	6. Going Commando

"So you're friend still doesn't want to meet us." Kiba asked Naruto one day at work.

Naruto shook his head. "Every time I mention anything at all about you and Chouji she doesn't really act interested. I'm sorry I'm sure it's nothing personal."

The brown-haired male let out an amused laugh.

"Well it's kind of hard not to take it personal man since it seems like she doesn't really want to meet us. I guess that she wants you all to herself huh?" he made some kissing type of noises with his mouth causing Naruto to sigh.

"Honestly Kiba."

"Hm," he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm only saying that's what it seems like."

Naruto said no more but he saw why Kiba had thought that way. Ino seemed to have no interest in any other people. He didn't know to take it as a compliment or not. He should probably feel flattered that she wanted to be near him but couldn't help but wonder why him and no one else.

"She's probably shy and I think she's been through something pretty bad. She refuses to talk. I think she's mute."

"Ah," Kiba nodded. "I'm sorry man. I didn't know it was like that. How do you communicate with her?"

"We're able to communicate just fine actually. I do wish I could hear her voice though. It's hard not to be curious."

"Sure." The brown-haired male agreed. "Take her to a therapist man maybe they can break the silence."

It wasn't a bad idea but he doubted if he could get her to agree. If she didn't even want to meet his friends what hope did he have of getting her to go see a therapist?

"There's only one problem with that though. I doubt that she will agree. She doesn't even want to meet you or Chouji."

"That's true, but if she doesn't start talking soon how are you supposed to really know anything about her?"

It was true that he had learned some information about her which had taken some time to obtain. He needed to know more. He hoped eventually with time she would open up to him.

"You know I honestly don't think I'll have a problem learning more about her. I get the feeling that she wants me to know."

* * *

At the apartment however Ino had just stepped out of the shower. She was dressed in a towel with her hair wet and cascading around her shoulders. A knock at the door had suddenly started the blonde female.

"Hey Uzumaki are you in there?"

"_It's a woman_." Ino thought to herself.

She needed to hurry into the room and get dressed right away.

"Uzumaki don't you dare ignore me. I do have ways of getting things done you know."

Ino made her way to Naruto's room but the sound of keys opening the front door startled her so badly she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"_Crap_."

"Uzumaki, oh holy shit!"

Ino came face to face with a purple-haired woman with amber eyes. She froze in place finding she couldn't move.

"Well looks like little Naruto has grown some balls and has some company over. I guess I interrupted something. Is he um…worn out?" the woman asked with an eye-brow raised suggestively which caused the blue-eyed girl to turn bright red.

"Who are you anyway? I didn't know Naruto had a girlfriend."

The purple-haired woman could see that she had embarrassed the poor young woman to the point that she could utter no words.

"Oh jeez, listen uh…I'm sorry okay. Naruto isn't around at all is he?"

"No." she shook her head.

"Alright, well why don't you go and get dressed Miss and I'll see if I can locate him."

Ino just nodded and hurried to get her clothes on. The purple-haired woman took out her phone.

"Poor girl she seemed scared shitless."

"Hello," she soon heard Naruto come on to the phone.

"Yo Uzumaki where the hell are you?"

"Anko-san, what are you doing calling me at this time? Shouldn't you be asleep or something?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Watch it. I'm not always prowling the streets at night although it is my favorite past time. Oh, by the way did you know that you have a half-naked woman in your house?"

Naruto coughed loudly. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment? You didn't freak her out did you?"

Anko chuckled lightly.

"Ah so she isn't an unwanted guest. I don't have to call the police then. So who is she?"

"I'll ask you again why are you in my apartment?"

"Um you remember I asked you to hold my mail for me when I went out of town. I just came by to get it. You weren't answering so I used my key."

Naruto shook his head while sighing heavily. "We only have keys to each other's places when it's a real emergency. Your mail isn't an emergency, leave okay before you upset her."

"It's too late for that kid. She's stunned speechless."

"Look I'm on my way Anko-san please I beg of you don't freak her out any further."

"Hey have some faith in me. Oh, she's coming back I'll talk to you later okay, bye."

"Anko-san…" only it had been too late the purple-haired woman was long gone. "Oh goddamn it she's going to scare Ino to death."

Naruto needed to get there as quickly as possible to try and salvage any damage.

"Hey Chouji I'm sorry but I really need to go for a while. I promise I'll be back."

"Sure, but what's wrong?"

"Let's just say that if I don't hurry something bad will happen."

The brown-haired owner just nodded. Naruto was a friend so he didn't mind doing any favors for him.

"Sure Naruto go on and take whatever time that you need."

"Thank you. I owe you one." He then hurried out of the restaurant so he could get home to save Ino from whatever Anko would do. The woman was capable of absolutely anything.

Ino nervously sat down with the amber-eyed woman staring at her.

"_Who is this woman_?" she couldn't help but wonder.

She had to assume that she was a neighbor. She didn't think Naruto would be dating a woman like this, besides she looked clearly older than him.

"So uh…I'm sorry if I scared you earlier. I just dropped by to get my mail. I asked Uzumaki to keep it for me. I'm Anko. Anko Mitarashi."

She offered her hand to Ino which the platinum-blonde took and shook it.

"Hm, you don't talk much do you?" she couldn't help but notice. "Well that's okay silence is golden. I'd rather have a silent person than a person running around with their trap wide open with nothing worth saying."

The blue-eyed female agreed just shaking her head in approval. Anko then went into the kitchen and helped herself to a soda.

"He won't mind." She smiled. "We've been neighbors for some time now. Damn I wish that he had some danjo."

An idea suddenly went off in the platinum-blonde's head.

"_Maybe if I make her some danjo she might leave_." Ino thought hopefully.

Ino then went into the kitchen. Anko watched curiously as the young woman went straight to cooking.

"Oh damn so she's not just some quiet slut that Naruto's shacking up with. She can cook."

Before long Ino had a plate of danjo sitting on the table waiting for Anko.

"No way is this all for me?"

"_Sure_." Ino gave a warm smile.

"Thanks a lot blondie." She bit into one with her eyes lighting up profoundly. "Damn this isn't bad. It's not bad at all. I guess Naruto hasn't done too badly for himself."

Ino found that she had turned bright red from Anko's compliment which went unnoticed by the amber-eyed woman. She was too happily eating her danjo. Moments later Naruto literally came bursting through the door.

"Anko-san!" he shouted while pointing an accusing finger. "What the hell have you done to Ino-chan?"

He calmed down drastically when he observed the situation. Anko was sitting there with a mouthful of danjo. The platinum-blonde smiled nervously shrugging her shoulders.

"Uzumaki, will you relax?"

"Ino are you alright?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Good." He sighed in relief.

Anko looked quite offended at his comment. "Hey, you're acting like she was in some sort of mortal danger."

"You can never be sure with you Anko-san. You…uh…never mind."

"Yes I didn't think that you really wanted to finish that sentence."

"So…" he quickly changed the subject. "You're eating I guess that Ino-chan made you some danjo, even though you broke into my place."

"I have a key Uzumaki so technically I did no such thing."

"Whatever." He sighed. "Ino are you sure that you're okay."

She gave another nod.

"Since when did you have women over anyway? So where have you been hiding this one?"

"Uh…its complicated." It was the best way he chose to answer.

"Ah," she nodded. "I understand it's a private matter. I won't pry any further then. For the record though she seems like a nice girl, any who I'll just get my mail and be on my way."

"Good Anko-san and please call first before you just drop by."

Anko smiled then pinched his cheek which caused Naruto to shout out.

"You love me kid and you know it."

"Yeah whatever you say."

"Bye." She nodded. "I'll see you around blondie." She referred to Ino for she did not know her name. The next sound being heard had been the door slamming shut.

"I'm really sorry about that. Anko-san is…" he paused. "Well there aren't any words."

Ino just gave an amused smile. She could think of quite a few words to describe the older purple-haired woman.

"I didn't want to leave you alone with her for too long so I rushed over from work. I'm going to have to head back soon though, um Ino-chan are you going to be alright here for a while. I don't think she'll come back. She only wanted to get her mail."

Ino saw that the whisker-marked male was clearly concerned for her. She appreciated that.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Okay." She agreed.

He scratched his head for a moment because it was a question that had been on his mind for a while now.

"Why don't you want to meet Kiba and Chouji? They're my best friends and I only want for you guys to know each other."

She folded her arms across her chest while appearing to be in deep thought.

"_This is pretty important to you huh_." She thought to herself.

Naruto did not know what to think right now. He felt a bit nervous while waiting for some type of reaction from her.

"Uh…" he began. "Ino…"

Suddenly the platinum-blonde came over to her then placed her arms around his shoulders. She held him in such a warm manner. He couldn't help but feel something from this embrace.

"_Oh…Ino_…" he thought as he stood frozen not sure what to do at first but then spoke. "Hey are you okay?"

"_I'm fine. This is perfect_." She thought before letting him go. "_Alright I'll meet them_." She nodded.

He stared into her aqua-colored orbs as if trying to read her thoughts that way.

"So you'll meet them. Is that what you're saying?"

She nodded again in confirmation and was only doing it because it seemed so important to him. A warm smile exploded on to his face and before he completely realized it he had scooped her up in his arms. He twirled around slightly. A startled expression covered her face.

"Oh…"

"Ah…I'm sorry Ino-chan. I'm just kind of happy right now. I want you to know my friends they're important to me and you…" he paused feeling his cheeks flush slightly. "You're in my life now so I want all of my important people to know one another."

She just gave the young man a small smile.

"Would you mind meeting them today? I have to get back to work and they both really want to meet you."

She simply agreed and after some time the two blonds left the apartment together. On the way Naruto spoke to Ino about Chouji and Kiba. Her facial expression read boredom to the blond male. He smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry Ino-chan I tend to ramble on sometimes. I know let's cross the street and we'll cut through the park. The scenery is nice there. I…" he was cut off when Ino put her hand to his arm. She narrowed her eyes slightly while looking around.

"Uh…Ino what…"

She put her hand to his lips to silence him. Suddenly an arrow was fired. Ino pushed the young man out of the way causing him to fly back.

"What…" he mouthed then watched as she jumped on to the car. She slid down pressing herself up against the side of the car.

"Ino…"

She looked towards the direction where the arrow had been fired but didn't see anyone. She was getting ready to take out a pocket knife when Naruto came over to her.

"Ino-chan what the hell is going on?"

He hadn't been expecting for her to go into a commando type mode doing the jump on to the car, or the random arrow being fired.

"_Arrows_?" he wondered. "Who the fuck just shoots arrows?"

The platinum-blonde got up from the ground. She hid the weapon before Naruto could see it. She shrugged her shoulders.

"You were like ready for action Ino-chan. You were acting like this was war or something? That's weird though with someone shooting arrows like that."

A sigh escaped the blue-eyed female. This was really not her day at all.

"Where did you learn to move so fast?"

He couldn't help but ask because her quick movements really had taken him by surprise. She only shook her head.

"_Not here and not like this_."

"Alright, well never mind then. I guess we're safe for now. Let's go okay before there are more arrows or something." He started to lead the way while she followed behind him.

"_I'll have to look after you better wont I Naruto_." She thought to herself.


	7. Deeply Connected

**A/n: Lol at last chapter with Anko scaring poor Ino. Thanks for reading guys and thanks for the reviews wasn't expecting so many. I think this one is definitely one of the more popular fics. It's kind of slow and boring to me but I think it will pick up or at least that's the goal. Is Ino GI JANE lol, maybe who knows? Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto and co.**

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The platinum-blonde could think of much better things to do than what she was on her way to do right now. She honestly cared less about meeting these friends of his.

"_Why_…." But she took one look at the whisker-faced male and it gave her the answer. "_Yeah, it's for him. I'm doing this for him."_

At the restaurant Kiba and Chouji were sitting down waiting. Naruto had called on the way over to let them know that he would be bringing the blue-eyed female. Chouji had already prepared an entire meal for all of them to enjoy.

"I wonder what his girl is like." Kiba spoke as he now tried to reach for some bread.

Chouji immediately pushed his hand away.

"Ouch!"

"We aren't eating anything until they get here." The owner spoke in a low tone.

Kiba's eyes went wide in surprise. Chouji had been known to pack away the food and normally would not wait for anyone.

"Since when did you care about waiting for everyone?"

"Hey," he screamed offended. "It's just that we should make a good impression. This girl seems important to him you know."

Kiba could agree with Chouji there.

"Yeah, you're right."

Naruto stood with Ino outside of the restaurant. He wondered what she had been thinking right this minute. Her expression read boredom.

"Ah Ino-chan are you nervous?"

She looked to the blond standing next to her.

"_Not really_."

"It's okay if you are." He then took her hand within his and smiled. "You'll like them I promise. Are you ready?"

She nodded then followed him to the area where he knew that his friends would be waiting.

"Chouji, Kiba, hey you guys. I'm sorry for taking so long."

"It's cool." Kiba nodded. "Chouji had this whole meal prepared and said we could have the rest of the day off too."

Naruto felt a smile erupt on to his face. He kind of wanted to spend time with Ino actually. He couldn't exactly do that if he had to work.

"Thanks Chouji you're the best."

"Sure." He smiled. "So, uh… where's your girl Naruto?"

"Huh, she…"

He turned around to see that she wasn't standing there. "Eh, she's gone again?" he instantly was reminded of the time from before when she had disappeared just before meeting them.

"Jeez why does she seem to hate us?"

Naruto immediately turned to look at his friends.

"No," he shook his head. "No, that's not it. She's probably really nervous." His friends could only give him disbelieving looks.

"Well, you got to admit it's…" Kiba stopped as he saw someone heading over to them. Ino placed her hand on to Naruto's shoulder which caused him to turn around once more.

"Ino-chan," he breathed a sigh of relief. "Where did you go? Are you okay?"

She nodded then motioned to the glass of champagne in her hand.

"Ah, did someone give that to you. Were you stopped on the way over here?" it had been the only conclusion the blue-eyed man could come up with.

"_Yes,"_

"I knew you wouldn't bail on me."

The platinum-blonde set the glass down then turned her attention to the two men sitting down. One of them had light brown hair with a chubby yet muscular appearance. The other one had shorter, messy dark-brown hair with some strange red markings which made him look feral.

"_Since I don't know they're names yet I'll just go by what they look like, wild boy and chubby-chan_." She decided.

"Ah, sorry Kiba, Chouji this is Ino-chan. Ino-chan these are my buddy's Kiba and Chouji." He pointed to each one respectively.

She gave a polite bow.

"Hi Ino-chan it's really nice to finally meet you."

"Yeah, Naruto's been going on about you for a while now. We wanted to meet the special girl."

Instantly both blonds turned very red in the face. Naruto ended up clearing his throat.

"Baka Kiba." He spoke.

Kiba then grinned at Ino. "For the record you are a total babe." He then howled like a wolf almost which caused the platinum-blonde to turn bright red in an instant.

"Kiba," Naruto hit him over the head. "Shut up!"

'Ouch, jeez I'm just saying. Ino-chan sit okay we've got lots of food."

The young woman nodded then sat down in the middle of Kiba and Naruto. She had to admit the food looked really delicious. She was also kind of hungry too.

"Ino-chan please eat." Chouji smiled. "I hope you like it."

"Yeah Chouji cooks like no other. You will love it I promise."

She gave a nod and took a bite out of some of the food that the light-brown haired male made. Her eyes lit up instantly.

"_Mmm…_" she thought. "_Chubby-chan can really cook_."

"I think she likes it man." Kiba laughed.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. He hoped that things would go well and so far everything seemed to be going okay. She was eating his food which wasn't surprising because no one turned down Chouji's cooking. The guy was just talented in that area.

"_I'm glad it's going good so far."_

He really wanted his friends to be able to get along with the blue-eyed female. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to make of his feelings for her but he wasn't stupid. He felt something towards the girl. He wanted for his best friends to like her because she was definitely in his life now. He looked over to the platinum-blonde as she looked amused at something Kiba had said to Chouji. He couldn't help but smile too and couldn't really think of his life without her in it somehow, despite the somewhat awkward way they had met.

"_She freaking kissed me_." His mind screamed.

How could he forget when the young woman locked lips with him on the beach on their fateful meeting? He has always assumed that she had done that because she was grateful for him having had saved her life. He would be sure to ask her why one day but what was more important to him was the fact that he found he wanted to do it again. Only this time a real kiss that both of them would be a part of rather than him being surprised by it.

Ino found herself getting some enjoyment out of this as well. Kiba and Chouji were really nice and she couldn't help but find amusement in the way that they all joked around with one another. It was all harmless fun and she could see they all really cared about one another.

"Aw come on Cho." Kiba chuckled. "I was only kidding of course my mom loved the desserts you made her for her birthday. They didn't really make her run to the bathroom for days on end."

"Idiot," Chouji screamed. "Why do I bother with you?"

"Because who else is going to be able to work for you as well as me oh, and Naruto too."

"Damn right," Naruto nodded. "We're the best Chouji you know that."

The light-brown haired male's face soon relaxed into a smile. "Yeah you guys are. I know."

Ino felt a smile of her own come on. "_This must be what it feels like to have real friends."_

It made her feel a certain peace and warm feeling. She put her hand to her chest for a second with confusion covering her features. Naruto immediately noticed her discomfort.

"Ino-chan," he put his hand to her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Oh shit," Kiba spoke. "Cho what did you cook? Are you trying to kill Ino-chan? Hey, do you need some water?" he was just about to pour the platinum-blonde a glass of water.

Chouji made a face but hoped to god it wasn't his cooking.

"No one's ever gotten sick before." He whispered.

Naruto could only gaze at her with worried eyes. "Ino-chan,"

She took the water from Kiba and drank incredibly fast. She handed the glass to Kiba to indicate to him that she needed more. He gladly refilled her glass and she wasted no time in downing that as well.

"_Damn, well at least it isn't beer_." Kiba thought.

Slowly the young woman pulled her hand away from her chest. The strange feeling she had just had leaving her body.

"Ino-chan I'm sorry." Chouji looked sympathetic. "Was it the food?" he didn't want to ask but couldn't help but to know if it was the culprit.

She shook her head earnestly and put her hand to his shoulder. _"No._" she gave a smile.

He sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

Naruto smiled too. "Don't worry Chouji you're too good no one would get ill from your cooking."

Kiba nodded in agreement. "Yeah don't worry."

Naruto couldn't help though but wonder what just came over the platinum-blonde. There was really still a lot about her that he didn't know. She could very well have some sort of medical issue that he didn't know about. Although at the hospital they did give her the okay.

"Ino-chan, you okay now?" he asked.

She felt the concern in the young man's voice. It was flattering and made her feel good to hear. It was nice to know that he cared too perhaps just as she did. Ino turned to him and gave him a smile.

"_I'm fine."_

"Good," he nodded. "I just…" he paused. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

They were staring at each other now both of them with cheeks slightly turning red.

"Oh boy, and cue disgustingly romantic movie music." Kiba laughed. "Kiss, Kiss." He cheered with enthusiasm. Ino turned away fast and so did Naruto both of them feeling more than slightly embarrassed.

"_Kiba, you're stupid_." Naruto raged in his mind.

Chouji couldn't help but laugh a little too. "Quit it Kiba you're embarrassing them. But Naruto you do have good tastes Ino-chan is pretty."

"_Uh…thank you_." She thought with a blush.

"Yeah she sure is." The brown-haired male smiled. "You're so hot Ino-chan, almost like a model or something. What made you choose whiskers over here?" he pointed.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted.

Ino blushed again. "_I love his markings. They're cute_." She then put her hand to his cheek and lightly brushed against them. Naruto couldn't help but sigh out at her soothing touch. He had also been particularly sensitive to touch there anyway.

"Ah, I get it you like markings. Well take a look at these baby." He pointed to his red streaks. "They are red and flashy, screams fuck me huh?"

Ino coughed and eyes nearly fell out of her head. She could see that Kiba was the clear open pervert out of their group. He had no fears about speaking his mind. Naruto immediately came out of his daze upon hearing that and slammed his fist into the brown-haired male's head.

"Ouch," he screamed. "Naruto,"

"Kiba," he barked. "What the hell are you trying to do scare the shit out of her?"

He chuckled. "Ah, I'm sorry Ino-chan I was mostly kidding. I'm glad Naruto finally got a girl to show him some interest."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Huh, hey,"

Kiba laughed. "I'm kidding man. Well, there was that one chick um," he tried to remember the name. "Sakura or something I think."

Ino looked suddenly curious at the mention of her name.

"Uh," Naruto looked uncomfortable. "Kiba that's not really important right now."

Chouji shook his head. "You were crazy about her."

Ino turned to look at Naruto and he swallowed nervously. He didn't want to have this conversation right now with the three of them. Kiba and Chouji would no doubt make the situation worse and blow it way out of proportion. She then looked away focusing her attention outside at the beach.

"Don't worry Ino-chan that's a thing of the past. Sakura is definitely not an issue. So if you want to make a move on our buddy here you definitely should."

Without completely realizing it she was gripping rather hard on the chopsticks and soon a cracking sound was heard. It startled the three boys.

"Well shit." Kiba spoke.

She quickly got to her feet and bowed in apology. "_I'm sorry. I'm going to go now_."

She bowed again and then left the table. Naruto glared at his friends then was on his feet as well.

"Jeez, Naruto we're sorry." Chouji spoke first.

"Yeah I guess she really likes you right? Well that's a good thing."

"Well, even if she does you guys probably ruined that by bringing up Sakura."

"Sorry man," Chouji repeated. "I hope that she isn't too upset. She seems like a nice girl and I'd really like for you to be happy if you like her back."

Kiba nodded in enthusiasm. "Yeah I agree. So, go after her okay man. Tell her we're sorry too."

Naruto nodded then headed off after the platinum-blonde who was currently walking along the beach. She had taken off her shoes and was now walking in the sand towards the water. She felt literally sick to her stomach at the mention of this other girl. She hadn't meant to overreact that way though by breaking the chopsticks.

"_Well at least it wasn't the glass_." She tried to make light of the situation. A sigh escaped her as she neared the water. She got close enough to feel the water cover her feet from time to time. She knew she shouldn't have reacted that way. It wasn't as if Naruto belonged only to her or anything.

"_He isn't mine but…._"

She closed her eyes for a second. "_It just feels like…"_

"Ino-chan!" she heard which immediately brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to see the blond-haired male running in her direction at top speed. She couldn't help but smile as he neared her.

"_Naruto,"_

"Hey," he nodded. "I saw you standing here. I'm sorry that those two upset you. They are great guys I promise. I don't even know why they mentioned Sakura. Uh…" he paused. "Are you alright?" he decided to just ask.

She gave him a smile which he honestly didn't know what to make of. She could very well be pissed off for all he knew. The platinum-blonde turned her attention to the water.

"_This is where we first met."_

He turned his attention to the water as well and as if he somehow read her thoughts he spoke.

"We first met here."

It surprised her that he said that which made her turn back to face him. He was still looking out into the water with a serious gaze.

"I'll never forget meeting you here Ino-chan." He started. "I know it's cheesy but it kind of feels like I was meant to find you that day."

She shook her head. "_I don't think it's cheesy at all. Maybe you were."_

"Ino-chan please don't feel bad about Sakura. That was a long time ago."

She motioned towards a nearby bench and led the way with him following her. The two blonds sat down together. She turned to look at him.

"Uh, do you want me to tell you about her?"

He hoped that wasn't the case but couldn't imagine why else she was staring at him if she didn't want him to share.

"_How am I supposed to know more if you don't tell me?"_

She didn't exactly want to hear about this Sakura girl. But she seemed to be a part of the boy's past. He was important to her she knew that much. So she wanted to know as much as he was willing to tell her. Naruto soon gave a nod.

"Okay then you win Ino-chan."

"_You can probably feel my thoughts on some level can't you?"_

She then reached for his hand. He blinked in confusion but gave her his hand. She stared at the young man's palm for a while which made him laugh suddenly.

"Are you going to read my palm? Don't know if I believe in that sort of thing. Always seemed like a bunch of crap to me."

Her fingers gently traced the lines on his hand. He looked down at her for it really did seem like she would do something like read his palm. He decided to play along.

"So what's the word Ino-chan? Do I have a healthy lifeline, good fortune, and love and whatever else those crazy old ladies go on about?" he chuckled.

She gave him a smile then looked back down. "_How in the hell would I know? Sure you're going to live forever, have a million kids, and endless waves of money. Does that sound good?"_

He let out another laugh then pulled his hand away. "People are in charge of their own lives. We create our own paths. I'll always believe that."

She shook suddenly at his words. An uncomfortable feeling was currently surging through her body right now. Naruto immediately noticed.

"What's wrong?"

She shuddered again which made him want to comfort her right away.

"_Naruto, please…"_

She leaned to him and at the same time he was reaching out for her too. He carefully wrapped his arms around the blue-eyed female. She took no time in melting into his arms. It felt so good to be this close to him and have him hold her. It felt vaguely familiar.

"Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded of course she would be okay now. How could she not be with these strong arms wrapped around her? She wanted him to never let her go. She wanted to stay in his arms for as long as possible.

"I'm glad you're okay now."

She looked up into his eyes.

"Do you still want me to tell you about Sakura?"

She did want for him to tell her more about his life only she felt that perhaps now wasn't the right time. Maybe she could wait awhile before having to hear whatever he had to say.

"_I do but…."_

"I will tell you but first you tell me about that whole going commando thing earlier?" he proposed with a grin that caused her face to fall flat.

"_Damn, playing dirty are we?"_

He caught the almost glare in her eye which made him laugh.

"Come on its not like you can expect me to forget about it. We were attacked, by arrows no less. I mean didn't you think it was kind of weird?"

Ino sighed. She really didn't want to talk about that ordeal any more than he wanted to tell her about Sakura. She decided to just call a truce for now.

"_Would you believe me if I said I honestly don't really know what that was all about?"_

She wasn't sure herself what to make of it all. Her body had just reacted instantly like it was the most natural thing in the world. The main thing she knew was that something was wrong and she needed to make sure that Naruto was ok. Which thankfully he was fine and there was no need to react that way. Naruto looked at the young woman's face. She seemed very troubled. He frowned because he hated to see her like this. He'd rather see her smiling.

"You don't want to talk about it do you?"

She nodded in confirmation.

"Okay then I won't force you too. You can tell me when you're ready okay, sound good?"

She nodded then after some time rose to her feet. She reached for his hand.

"_Hey, how about you and I don't talk about either of these situations until we want to._"

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable Ino-chan so don't push yourself. I won't talk about Sakura right now either okay. It would just make us both uncomfortable."

She couldn't help but smile widely. Naruto really was able to read her thoughts on a certain level. She didn't even need to talk he understood her so well. There was a connection she was almost positive of it. It wasn't just the fact that he saved her life although naturally they would be bonded now because of that. It was something else too. What, she didn't know. Or rather she couldn't put her finger on what it could be.

"_What is this Naruto? Do you perhaps feel it too? Am I the only one?"_

He smiled at her then took her hand. There was something in his smile that made her feel that she couldn't possibly be alone in these thoughts.

"_Yes there is something I know it."_

The blond male was now on his feet he still hadn't let her hand go. He just wanted to lean down and kiss her so badly.

"_Would this be a good time though?"_ he wondered.

She blinked as she saw him currently in some thoughts of his own. He looked so cute while thinking. She reached up to lightly kiss him on the forehead which did bring him back to reality.

"Huh?"

"_Hey, let's get out of here okay."_

She started to lead the way.

"Oh, okay sure let's go."

He felt at ease with her holding his hand this way. He felt a certain closeness that he was sure he had never felt before. Being with the platinum-blonde gave him all sorts of feelings. He found that he enjoyed the feelings he received whenever he was with her.

"_Ino-chan, what is this? Do you know? Can you feel this too?"_

When she gripped his hand within hers it told him what he needed to know. She had to feel similar things to what he was feeling. He may not have had her words to voice it to him but he just knew it.

"_I don't know but it's something."_

He didn't know what it was but he knew that he wanted the time to explore whatever it was with the blue-eyed female. Naruto knew there had to be a reason as to why they met here on the beach that day. It couldn't have been a simple coincidence. Ino turned back to look at Naruto she was smiling but something was gnawing at her in the inside. She had this unexplainable feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like it. Something felt so wrong to her. It wasn't just the whole earlier incident either. It was still in the back of her mind as she was sure that he had to be thinking of it as well.

"_I don't know about that whole thing, but I do feel the need to be careful."_

She put on another brave smile for the boy.

"_Don't worry I won't let anything happen to you."_


	8. We're close but still so far

**A/n: Well, there are no words to say but holy fucking shit. I wasn't expecting such a surge of reviews. These few stories I'm focusing on are really my most popular ones to date. So that is awesome and inspiring too. I kind of like this fic too not as much as Broken Beyond Repair but this is kind of nice too. Keep reading and enjoying. Things will start to get more interesting it's a promise or I wouldn't be your favorite Maiden now would I lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto he owns me. ^-^**

A woman with long red locks sat up in bed holding a small, blond-haired child in her arms. She hazily opened her eyes to give a smile as best as she could.

"It is nice to finally get to hold you little one." She whispered while lovingly gazing down at the baby she had worked so hard to deliver. A man with wild blond hair soon came over to his red-haired wife and stared down at both her and the baby.

"You were amazing." He whispered lovingly. "He is beautiful."

"Hai," she nodded. "He is…"

"Have you decided on a name dear?"

She opened her mouth to say something but no words could be formed. The next thing that happened was a hooded figure appearing literally from nowhere. It instantly grabbed the baby from its mother's arms.

"My child…" she screamed then reached out for her child but the figure disappeared into a dark void.

Ino awoke from her sleep breathing heavily. She wanted to scream and would have if only she had the voice to do so. Her heart was racing. She felt like it just might explode. She then closed her eyes.

"_Shit, what was that?"_

It had felt so real whoever the dream had been about. Ino felt as if she were really a part of it. Slowly a hand went to her chest she needed to calm herself down more.

"_It's pounding so fast."_

She then tried to get to her feet but only ended up sinking back down into the bed. Her legs didn't seem to want for her to move. She noticed that she did feel significantly weaker.

"_Something is wrong."_

If she didn't find the will to move soon she feared that things might get worse for her.

"_Naruto,"_ she immediately thought. She took one more breath then opened her eyes again when she heard some footsteps.

"Ino-chan," Naruto went wide-eyed at the sight before him of the platinum-blonde looking to be in some type of pain. He hurried to her side. "Hey," he whispered then placed his hand to the side of her cheek. "Are you alright?"

She gave him a warm smile. His touch was so gentle to her right now. "_You felt that I needed you didn't you?"_

The blue-eyed male's presence was starting to make her feel better already. The blond then got up. "Do you want some water?"

She nodded.

"Alright I'll be right back."

Ino was now able to sit up better and her heart seemed to have calmed down a lot too. Naruto soon returned with an ice cold glass of water. She instantly downed the entire thing.

"_Jeez, she drinks fast."_

He almost felt like he should get an entire pitcher for her. She certainly seemed thirsty enough. A sigh of relief escaped the platinum-blonde.

"Are you feeling better now Ino-chan?" he asked.

"_Yes,"_

He was worried about the blue-eyed female although she did have the okay from the hospital he didn't know if the blonde female had any type of medical problems. Would they need to see a doctor? She did seem rather unwell.

"Ino-chan, do you want to see a doctor? Should we go to one?"

Immediately Ino shook her head no. The last thing she wanted was to see a doctor or be in a hospital or cause him to worry.

"Alright then but if you start to feel badly again we might have to see a doctor. I just…" he paused. "I just want to be okay." He gave a smile which she returned. It made her feel good to know that he cared about her this much.

"What happened?"

"_It was a pretty bad dream_."

Still she couldn't help but wonder about that dream. Who were those people? Why had it felt so very real? He sat down beside her then placed his arm around her. He gently began rubbing her arm.

"Was it a nightmare?" He questioned.

The blonde female gave a nod in confirmation.

"Hm," he understood because he had his share of bad dreams too. "I know they can feel real Ino-chan but it's best to remember that they aren't."

She wasn't so sure about that. The dream had felt incredibly real. A part of her didn't really want to go back to sleep in fear of dreaming again.

"It's going to be okay."

His voice had been soothing to her and it did help her to calm down. she leaned into him more finding that if the blond male held her just like this she would easily get back to sleep.

"_Naruto I just want you to stay with me for tonight."_

He soon let her go then looked down at her. She didn't seem upset anymore but he wanted to make sure that she was 100 percent okay.

"Hey." He smiled. "I'll stay here with you; you should try to get back to sleep."

She nodded then lay back down on the bed. Ino motioned down for him to come closer in which he did. A familiar feeling came over him and before he knew it Naruto started reaching towards the blonde female.

"Hey Ino-chan,"

She looked towards him with a somewhat curious expression on her face. He stared back at her and she felt his resistance.

"_What's wrong Naruto?"_

He put his hand out towards her almost shakily. He didn't know what to expect but had to say something. "Ino-chan will it be okay if I hold you, at least until you can fall back to sleep again?"

The blue-eyed female's face went crimson in a matter of seconds. He wanted to hold her? She honestly longed for any type of closeness with the whisker-marked male. He didn't even have to ask but understood why.

"_Sure,"_ she gave a nod in confirmation.

Naruto wrapped his arms around the blonde female's waist and held her closely. It felt oddly familiar. _"Why does this feel so right?"_

she leaned into him more and found that she truly didn't want him to let her go. she really could stay like this in his embrace forever. It felt strangely familiar to her as well. Naruto had not been the only one to feel it.

"_This feels right._" a yawn had escaped her then she drifted off to sleep. Naruto watched the beautiful blonde while she slept. She looked so peaceful and at ease. He carefully placed his hand on to her cheek pushing her hair back slightly.

"Ino-chan you're so pretty." She looked angelic even with her long platinum-blonde locks flowing around her shoulders. She just may be the prettiest girl in the world or at least that was how she was making him feel about her. He didn't even think Sakura made him feel like this, although that had mostly been a one-sided crush and not all serious.

What he felt towards the blue-eyed female was starting to feel like something entirely different. He felt as if could love her; or rather he was already starting to. He leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Good night okay Ino-chan,"

While she slept Ino dreamed once again. Inside the dream someone was shaking her awake.

* * *

"_Ino, come on we must hurry."_

_A pair of bright aqua-colored orbs opened. She focused her attention on to where she had heard the voice. It was an older gentleman with a kind looking face. He was bald except for the excessive amounts of facial hair._

"_Who is this?" she wondered._

_She couldn't place a name with the face although she felt a certain sense of familiarity when she looked at him. She felt like she knew this man._

"_Who are you jii-san,"_

"_Ino please hurry our presence has been requested."_

_She gave a nod then slowly rose to her feet before she could stop it the words were flowing freely from her mouth._

"_Why are we needed? Where are we going sir?"_

_He put a hand to her shoulder then smiled brightly. "We are to see the baby of course my dear. Let's go we've already missed enough time. let us move quickly."_

_She nodded then followed behind the kindly gentleman. The halls seemed to go on forever as she walked behind him. Several people were nodding and bowing at them as they passed through._

"_Such a strange place." Ino thought._

_She wanted to ask him where they were going but soon they came to a stop. The man turned around to look at her with another smile._

"_My dear don't be nervous okay. Everything will be just fine."_

_She did suddenly feel nervous now that he had mentioned it. "Hai,"_

_The two of them walked into a large, grand hall, the floor was made from marble stone, carpets of the finest material stretched out on to the floor, and stained glass windows throughout the entire room. Ino couldn't explain but she did feel as if she had been here before._

"_My lord, My lady." The old gentleman made his presence known._

_Ino blinked when she saw the two people up ahead. It was the same blond-haired male and red-haired woman from her previous dream._

"_It's them?"_

"_Ah," the blond male gave a smile. "Master Gensu, how good of you to come."_

"_Hm, I wouldn't not respond to a request made from you my Lord."_

_The man nodded then smiled again. The red-haired female too gave a smile._

"_Master Gensu you've brought Ino-chan."_

_He nodded. "Hai, I wanted her with me."_

"_It's so nice to see you Ino-chan. I'm glad that you could be here to meet the baby."_

"_Hai," she bowed. "Yes ma'am. it's an honor." The words naturally flowed once more._

_The older male who she had just learned was named Master Gensu put a hand to her shoulder. He then began to guide her forward._

"_Do not be shy my dear."_

"_Yes," the red-haired woman agreed. "Ino-chan, come closer so that you can see him."_

"_Him," Ino thought. So the baby was a boy. She moved closer so she could get a better look. The child had blond hair and his eyes were closed so she couldn't see what color they were. However there was something about this child that most certainly couldn't be ignored. On his cheeks were all too familiar markings._

"_Naruto," her mind quickly went there._

_She then looked up at the woman. "My Lady," she started. "He is beautiful."_

_She agreed. "He is thank you very much. Would you like to hold him?"_

_Ino didn't know if she should. He was so small. What if she dropped him? God forbid she became so nervous that she'd hurt the child. She looked towards Master Gensu._

"_Don't be afraid my dear."_

"_Yes." The blond male agreed. "It's going to be alright Ino-chan."_

_Since she had everyone's approval she felt it would indeed be okay. She slowly reached towards the child with his mother placing him into her arms. _

"_Just be sure to hold his head, there just like that. Ino-chan you're a natural."_

_The platinum-blonde stared down at the baby. She smiled. He was truly cute more so now since she was seeing him close up. She found herself wanting to see what color his eyes were._

"_Little one will you open your eyes for me so that I may see what color they are?" she thought._

_As if somehow he heard her, a pair of deep cerulean-blue pools opened. Ino's eyes widened. "Naruto," once again her mind went straight to him. She then looked at the red-haired woman._

"_My lady…um…" she paused_

_The red-haired female smiled again. "I can feel that he likes you."_

_Ino didn't know what to make of the comment but perhaps she should trust the woman's judgment. She was after all this boy's mother. Mothers did know best after all._

"_Ino-chan," she spoke thoughtfully causing the blue-eyed female to look over to her._

"_Yes," she wondered._

"_I have a duty just for you. Will you please look after him? Will you be there for him whenever he may need you?"_

_She looked from the woman to the child in her arms. It was an incredible responsibility. She didn't know if such a job should be given to her. What the hell did she know about children? However she dared not say no to her either._

"_Yes my Lady I will. You can count on me."_

"_Good. I knew that you would not refuse me. I can already sense a growing bond between you both."_

_She nodded for she felt it too. This little boy in her arms already meant something to her. She didn't know why but she did feel the connection already._

"_My Lady, forgive but what is his name?"_

"_Oh yes," she suddenly remembered. "You didn't learn his name. Its…"she mouthed the name but Ino didn't make out a sound as the dream ended and she was once again in the real world._

* * *

It was less intense but still very vivid.

"_What the hell?"_ had been her first thoughts? It couldn't possibly be real right? it certainly didn't make any sense. That child wasn't…she turned to look at the sleeping blond male with the whisker-markings on his face, just like the baby in her dream. Ino shook her head as new thoughts were currently beginning to freak her out. Nothing made much sense right now. She turned away.

"_It was only a dream, only a dream."_ She repeated.

Yet her heart wasn't allowing her to believe the words her mind had been trying to convince her. Suddenly something shook her out of those thoughts when she felt something firm and hard brushing up against her.

"_What…"_ she looked to see a clear bulge in the young man's shorts. "_Oh shit_,"

She felt her face turn several shades of red. The young man had to be having a wet dream of sorts not that such a thing wasn't normal. It just…well now was simply not the time for this. she willed herself to look away feeling that she should most definitely not be looking. She moved away as well.

"_What are you thinking about I wonder?"_

She knew not to let her mind go there but it couldn't be helped. When a part of her really hoped that he might have been thinking of her. She ended up looking back at him.

"_My god it's still up."_

The whisker-marked male had not gone soft yet. This was staring to make the platinum-blonde nervous. She didn't know what to do. Should she wake him up? Perhaps there wasn't a real need to maybe it would simply go down on its own.

"Ugh," Naruto groaned out and she literally at that moment saw his cock jump. She froze now she really didn't know what to do. A look of discomfort washed over his face. He was going to have to do something about this unless it happened to go down. Ino felt like maybe she should leave before it got any more uncomfortable.

"_Yeah, I need to do just that."_

She moved to get up but heard his voice which completely distracted her.

"Ino-chan," he let out a moan.

"_Oh god,"_ she blushed. _"He is thinking about me."_

Sure she was flattered but still it did nothing to wash away all those nerves.

"_Yep, I definitely need to go."_

Unfortunately for her the darkness of the room only made it harder for her to see where she was going. She tripped over a shoe while getting up from the bed.

"_Fuck,"_ she hit the floor hard. It startled the blond male out of his sleep.

"Huh," he looked to where he heard the noise and saw Ino quickly getting up from the floor. "Oh, Ino-chan, are you alright?"

"_Oh yeah I'm fine. I love crashing on to floors in the middle of the night. The more important question right now is are you alright?"_

Naruto wanted to say more but noticed and also felt his current erection. His eyes went wide. It was probably too much to hope that this was all a dream.

"Oh shit, He cursed. "Ino-chan I…." he caught the look on her face before she turned away. This was definitely not what he wanted. "Uh…s-sorry." he laughed nervously.

"_Sure it's okay."_

"Um," he threw the covers over himself quickly. "It'll go down." he said in a hopeful manner. Since he wasn't even sure himself if it truly would go down on its own. Ino ended up sitting down on the bed again but this time her back was turned to him. He couldn't blame her at all for feeling uncomfortable.

"Jeez this is really embarrassing." He ran a hand through his spiky locks.

Ino on the other hand had other thoughts on her mind now. Her second dream which was just as real as the first was the main thing on her mind. It couldn't possibly be some truth there could it? She looked to the blond male who appeared to be rather nervous. At this moment she really wished that she could verbally communicate with him. Sure she knew that on some level he felt her words but with all these recent developments she just wanted to talk to him. She sighed. Naruto looked up.

"Are you okay?"

She only turned to give him a brave smile. "_Nope it's not okay. It's not okay at all."_

He didn't like that smile for he knew it all too well. He had done a similar type of smile. "_Something is bothering her."_ The blond male decided. He soon felt that his erection had come down completely and given the circumstances it had been a very good thing. He sighed too.

"I bet it's really hard for you huh?"

Upon hearing the statement she looked back at the blue-eyed male with a curious expression on her face. "_What,"_

He smiled sadly. "You really wish that you were able to talk to me right now don't you?"

She gave a nod. "_You have no idea. This is very hard_."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I've wanted to hear your voice for so long. Right now I get the feeling that you really want to talk to me."

"_I do, so badly Naruto."_

He moved towards her and soon they were sitting across from one another. Her aqua-colored orbs were staring into his cerulean pools. She slowly put her hand on to his cheek once again brushing up against those whisker-markings. He suppressed a groan. The look in his eyes felt so familiar.

"_Those eyes_," she instantly thought about the dream. The dream with the blond child she held in her arms with those same markings and same deep blue orbs. She also felt the same feelings now that she had in that dream. Could she have truly been dreaming of Naruto as a child? Were the red-haired woman and the blond male his parents? Who exactly was that kind, old gentleman? There were so many unanswered questions.

"_Am I losing my mind_?" She wondered for it most likely felt like it.

Naruto felt worry for the blonde female. Perhaps he should take her to talk with someone especially since she did want to talk to him just as badly as he wished to verbally communicate with her. Although they had really been able to communicate just fine for the most part they were each longing for more. He leaned forward while putting his forehead to hers. He breathed a sigh.

"Ino-chan I'm worried about you."

That's funny she had been more worried about him than herself.

"We need to…" She cut him off by suddenly capturing his lips into a kiss. His eyes went wide for a moment. He had wanted to be the one to kiss her first but found himself soon relaxing into the soft kiss. She put her arms around his shoulders in order to deepen it. By god she wanted this. She wanted this for so long.

"_He isn't pulling away_." she thought happily.

Naruto hadn't pulled away in fact his arms went around her waist as he pulled her closer. Their kiss only intensified with the passing minutes. He ended up letting out a light moan into her mouth. He hadn't ever felt quite like this before. There was so much heat and desire flowing through him and at this rate he'd get a hard on once again. Soon both blonds broke away for some much needed air.

"Wow," he breathed then laughed. "That's not fair Ino-chan. I wanted to be the one to kiss you first. I guess you were tired of waiting for me."

"_Hm,"_ she thought in amusement. "_Well you could have moved a bit faster_." She joked to herself then pinched his cheek lightly.

He laughed again. "Okay, okay point taken. It was a nice kiss, a very nice kiss."

She agreed completely with him because it was nice and it felt so good. It was a kiss that was worth the long wait. She'd do it again in a heartbeat.

"That was better than when you first kissed me, huh?"

She turned red quickly as she remembered when they first met and how she kissed him so suddenly upon awakening. She still really didn't know why that was. It had been an instant reaction just like the incident with the random arrow.

"_Yeah that felt right too. It felt like I just had to protect you Naruto. I don't know why but I must protect you._

"I guess it's safe to say that you like me too." He grinned which right away touched her heart.

"_I more than like you Naruto. It's so much more than that."_

"I'm glad that we know each other. I honestly can't think of life without you in it."

She agreed. _"I don't think I'd really want to be a part form you anyway Naruto."_

"I only want to take care of you Ino-chan."

"_I want to take care of you."_

He got silent but soon found his voice once again. "I don't want to push this but I think it might be helpful if one day we see a therapist."

She tensed up a bit at what he said. That wasn't anything at the top the blonde's wish list but at this point she wasn't sure if she had seen another way.

"_Perhaps I should. I do feel like I may be losing it a bit here."_

Naruto gently rubbed her shoulder. "I'll go with you when you're ready." He reminded her that had no intention of pushing her on this, but did want her to know she definitely had his support. He'd help her in anyway necessary.

"Does that sound okay to you Ino-chan?"

"_Sure," _she agreed then hugged him tightly. Naruto was only concerned for her well-being. Ino knew she had a lot to figure out especially with those dreams that were so full and vivid. The second one had been much stronger than the first.

"_What does it all mean?" _

She wanted to be able to say this was all in her head but that would be a flat out lie since she didn't feel like it was. There was more to this she knew it.

"_Naruto,"_ she mentally sighed. "_I don't suppose you have any answers, huh?"_

It would be easier if he did but even if he somehow did she couldn't find out simply because of the fact that she was unable to speak with him. They truly needed to find a solution for that.

"_Perhaps talking to someone will help."_ She didn't see the harm in giving it a try. If the silence didn't break soon Ino feared that she had no other option.

"_Also if it means that I can talk to you Naruto I'll do whatever I have to do."_

He soon pulled her away from him.

"We don't have to decide on anything right now. I'm here for you though."

She nodded. "_I know."_

"Good," he smiled. "Now are you ready to try to get back to sleep. I promise I won't hold you too tightly again just in case…." He blushed slightly as he spoke about the previous state he had been in depending on just how long he was erect she more than likely felt it. He didn't know how he felt about that. It most likely had to be weird for her sure they were getting closer and they both knew the feelings were mutual. Having her feel that was however a completely different matter. She turned red too but then laid back down into bed again. She would not refuse the chance to be close to the blond male. However to his surprise she had wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"_There this could work. I don't have anything between my legs that could rise up at any time to say hello to you_." She thought amused.

Naruto must have realized what she was doing because he laughed.

"Ha, I get it Ino-chan." However her brilliant plan wasn't entirely fool proof. She may have not had that particular tool but the blonde female did have two very special weapons that also couldn't be ignored.

"Mm…" he couldn't help but think as he felt those soft, round tits slightly pressing up against his back. "You do realize though." He paused.

She blinked curiously staring over at him.

"You have something that gets hard too that I can feel."

"_Say what,"_ but it didn't take her very long to realize exactly what he had been referring to. She jumped slightly. "_My boobs,"_

He let out another laugh. "I'm sorry but yeah I can feel them pressing up against me."

"_Of course I was holding you so damn tight_."

She then turned away he gave her a sort of pout.

"Aw, come on Ino-chan I thought you wanted to hold me. So do I not get any more loving now?"

She smiled her own smile at that comment. Naruto was really adorable to her in many ways. "_No one is going to be holding anyone tonight, goodnight Naruto."_

He sighed in defeat but still smiled. She made him feel so happy he couldn't possibly ever be truly angry with her for any reason.

"Alright," he agreed. "Sleep it is then," he did however lean over to lightly peck her on the side of her face. "Goodnight Ino-chan."


End file.
